Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said on Friday that the financial system is preparing for an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities and for a possible downturn in the economy which may result.

Speaking to Channel 2 News, Fischer said, “The primary responsibility of each country is to maintain its security. It is possible to describe situations of widespread war which would be very difficult to deal with. We are preparing for a major crisis and for security situation which is much worse.”

During the interview, Fischer also addressed the pressing economic issues at hand, especially the economic measures recently approved by the government. These include a tax hike and across-the-board budget cuts for government ministries.

“Netanyahu and Steinitz are working in a measured way,” he said, praising the work being done by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. “Most of the taxes will be imposed on the relatively higher levels of society, and much less on the poor and middle class.”

Fischer warned that there may soon be a global financial crisis, similar to the one in 2008, saying, “If Greece leaves the eurozone and it snowballs, we will be in deep trouble, because there will be a global financial crisis like in 2008. This will cause us problems which we can deal with if we are in the best condition possible.”